What is I-O?

Industrial-organizational (I-O) psychology is the scientific study of the workplace. Rigor and methods of psychology are applied to issues of critical relevance to business, including talent management, coaching, assessment, selection, training, organizational development, performance, and work-life balance.

2008 SIOP Award Winners

Wendy Boswell, Chair
SIOP Awards Committee

On behalf of the SIOP Awards and Executive Committees, I am delighted to present the 2008 SIOP award winners. The following individuals were recognized for their outstanding contributions to I-O psychology at the 2008 annual conference in San Francisco. Congratulations to all of the award winners.

Morgan McCall  (University of Southern California)
Distinguished Professional Contributions Award

A senior statesman in the field of leadership, Dr. McCall’s pioneering study of executive derailment and his innovative research and conceptual work identifying the experiences important to leadership growth have led to an integrated framework for succession planning, early identification, and job assignments that offer companies a coherent approach to executive development. He was instrumental in creating the Looking Glass simulation for managers, which broke new ground in assessment-for-development methodology.  His numerous books, chapters, and articles have broad appeal among practitioners as well as academics, and The Lessons of Experience (1988) remains a popular and widely read book. His work continues to inspire his colleagues and influence how corporations use experience to develop leadership talent.

Fritz Drasgow, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Distinguished Scientific Contributions Award

Lifetime dedication to rigorous research makes Dr. Drasgow an asset to the field of I–O psychology. He has been instrumental in introducing and applying new research methodology and statistical techniques to important and complex problems in the field. The areas of measurement theory and application, computerized testing, and sexual harassment research are among his most important ground-breaking contributions. Specifically, he is recognized as the leading contributor to the application of item response theory in I-O. As a respected, multidimensional scholar, he has served in many advisory roles, mentored numerous students, and sat on 10 journals’ editorial boards. Prolific in the top tier of I–O journals, his scientific work has been cited more than 2,500 times.

Mikki Hebl, Rice University
Distinguished Teaching Contributions Award

Captivating. Creative. Challenging. Inspiring. These are just a few of the adjectives former students use when describing the impact of Dr. Hebl’s teaching style. The recipient of most of Rice University’s teaching awards and honors, she is skilled at engaging and bringing out the best in her students. She has inspired undergraduates to become I-O graduate students, and graduate students into a growing number of I-O professionals in both academic and practice fields. Her guidance has enabled hundreds of students to develop solid research skills and make important contributions to the literature, especially in diversity and discrimination-related studies. In short, she is the kind of teacher and mentor that students aspire to have in their learning career.

Remus Ilies, Michigan State University
Distinguished Early Career Contributions Award

Earning his PhD in 2003, Dr. Ilies is already an accomplished scholar of I–O psychology. He has published over 30 articles, more than half in top–tier journals. In addition, his work is frequently cited, quite an accomplishment for a young scholar. His research contributions are impressive, focusing on topics such as employee satisfaction and well-being, affect, work–family balance, leadership and group processes, and motivation and self-regulation. In 3 year’s time he was promoted to associate professor and awarded a research fellowship.  Additionally, he has been recognized with other awards and honors, and invited to sit on the editorial board of several prestigious journals. Although still early in his career, clearly both the quantity and quality of Dr. Ilies’ work is exceptional.

David A. Harrison (Pennsylvania State University), Daniel A. Newman (Texas A&M University), and Philip L. Roth (Clemson University) receive the Owens Award for their article: Harrison, D. A., Newman, D. A., & Roth, P. L. (2006). How important are job attitudes? Meta-analytic comparisons of integrative behavioral outcomes and time sequences. Academy of Management Journal, 49, 305–325.

Elizabeth Conjar (George Mason University) and Dan Horn (U.S. Army Research Institute) receive the Flanagan Award for their poster “Formal and Emergent Leaders’ Cognitive Accuracy in Social Networks.” 

George Alliger, Winston Bennett, Charles Colegrove,
Rebecca Beard, & Michael Garrity
M. Scott Myers Award for Applied Research in the Workplace

The 2008 Myers Award is presented to George Alliger (The Group for Organizational Effectiveness, Inc.), Winston Bennett (Air Force Research Lab, Human Effectiveness Directorate), Charles Colegrove (Air Combat Command, Flight Operations Division [Alion Science and Technology]), Rebecca Beard (The Group for Organizational Effectiveness, Inc.), and Michael Garrity (Aptima, Inc.) for their work entitled “The Development and Validation of a Competency Based Approach to Improving Decision Making: Mission Essential Competencies^SM.”

Subrahmaniam Tangirala (University of Maryland) receives the 2008 Wallace Award for his dissertation “Exploring Non-Linearity in Employee Voice: The Effects of Personal Control and Organizational Identification.”

Frank D. Golom and Benjamin E. Liberman (both of Teacher’s College, Columbia University) receive the LGBT Award for their paper “‘Think Manager, Think Male’: Stereotypes of Gay and Lesbian Managers.”

Elizabeth Conjar (George Mason University) receives the Wherry Award this year for her presentation “The Impact of Task and Relationship Conflict on Team Structure: A Social Network Approach.”

Ari Malka (University of Houston) receives the Joyce and Thayer award for his research entitled “Effects of GMA and LMX on Task and Contextual Performance.”

This year’s Lee Hakel Graduate Student Scholarship recipient is Liu-Qin Yang (University of South Florida).  Her winning paper is “Physical Violence in Nursing: A Longitudinal Examination.”

Sonia Ghumman (Michigan State University) receives a SIOP scholarship for her work entitled “Formal and Interpersonal Discrimination Towards Job Applicants Who Wear Religious Attire.”

Whitney Botsford (George Mason University) also receives a Graduate Student scholarship for her work, “Clarifying the Career Decisions of Mothers and Identifying Organizational Strategies to Retain Mothers.”

Lisa Finkelstein, Kurt Kraiger, & Jerry Wittmer
Nathan Bowling, Jeffery Labrador, & John McKee
Small Grant Awards

Lisa Finkelstein (Northern Illinois University), Kurt Kraiger (Colorado State University), and Jerry Wittmer (State of Colorado) are being awarded a small grant for their research “Organizational and Process Influences on the Effectiveness of Formal Mentoring Programs.”

Nathan Bowling (Wright State University), Jeffery Labrador, and John McKee (both of Kenexa) receive their small grant for “Organizational Commitment and Job Performance: Is the Relationship Spurious?”

2008 SIOP Awards Committee